Fragile
by SilverMidnight52
Summary: It took awhile, but Travis finally figures out what Wes reminds him of. If only he knew what to do about this reminder. Fourth part of Wes's Past series. (Ache, Cold, The Case)


Another story added to my Wes story. This one is from Travis's point of view. I don't know why I love this one so much but I do. I hope you like as much as I do.

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Travis watched his partner closely out of the corner of his eye. To everyone else he knew that the blond looked exactly the same as normal. Those people didn't know him as well as he did though.

The shirt he was wearing was slightly wrinkled. The tie, while not being truly ugly, didn't match his suit like normal. It was almost as if he grabbed the first thing he could find and threw it on with no real thought.

It was probably more than a little disturbing that the older man could tell that something was off with his friend just by his clothes, but Wes was a very specific person. You always knew what to expect from him.

There was also a small chance that Travis had been watching him all the more closely since he started to talk about his past. It wasn't that he suddenly didn't trust the blond. He just wanted to make sure that he was okay.

He knew that he had let Wes down in the past and he didn't want to do that anymore. Travis needed to show his partner that he could open up about things to him and that they'd still be alright in the end.

Okay, so he knew that he was being a little mother hen about the whole thing, but what was the probably with that? It wasn't like the younger man actually had someone else to watch out for him.

That was Travis's job now. As his partner he had to have Wes's back out on the field. As his friend he had to have Wes's back everywhere else. This wasn't something that he could suddenly shut off anymore.

Maybe it was a little odd that things had changed between them so much. It just wasn't surprising. It wasn't a bad shift, but there was a shift that was clear to everyone that knew the two of them.

That wasn't quite right though. Travis had no idea that Wes even knew that there was a good part to the sudden shift in their friendship. All he knew was the blond was somehow both more open and more shut off than ever before.

It was an odd mixture that the older man was pretty sure only Wes could pull off. It was more than a little worrying though. Mostly because he had no idea how long it was before everything reached its breaking point.

Sighing Travis dropped his head to his desk feeling a little overwhelmed. He remembered this feeling from when he was a kid and a new person came into the home and the system.

He always felt the need to try to help them out as much as he could. Given there were a lot of time that that 'helpfulness' was thrown back in his face, but he still had to try to do something since he was older than them.

Travis never thought that he'd be comparing his friend to a foster kid or his past at all. Especially since the younger man was in no way a child. That was exactly what he was doing though.

That careful calculation in everything that he said or did so not to upset the man. It was like he was walking on eggshells and he knew that Wes had noticed what he was doing. And that he was not pleased by it.

The tick in his jaw that was only there when Travis did something really stupid was always there now. The fact that the younger man hadn't tried to throw a punch was a testament to how far they had come in their therapy.

Still that knowledge did nothing to stop Travis was treating Wes like he was something fragile. A lot had happened over the last few months and as much as he didn't want them to it did change things.

"Marks," the Captain suddenly called from his office doorway, "With me!"

With a confused look Travis waited for him to call for Wes as well, but the call never came. A lump was in his throat as he looked at his friend only to see that the younger man was refusing to look away from him computer.

Swallowing roughly the detective went to his bosses office and flinched when the door was slammed behind him. He had a feeling he knew what was going to be said, but he was hoping beyond hope that he was wrong.

"Wes talked to me this morning before you came in," Sutton said softly as he dropped into his chair, "Want to tell me why?"

"He wants to change partners," Travis muttered looking at the ground.

"No, he wants to transfer to another city completely."

"What?!"

Hearing the Captain's words the detective stormed out of the office and to his friend. Wes continued to tap away on his computer trying to ignore his partner, but he could see just how tense the blond was.

Grabbing the back of his suit Travis pulled him up and forced him into the elevators completely ignoring the other officers that were watching him and the Captain demanding answers he didn't have yet.

The elevator traveled down for a moment before Travis shut it off and turned to the younger man. Even away from his computer the blond was refusing to look anyway near the man.

"Transferring?" Travis ground out trying not to yell, "You're transferring?"

"Seems like the only thing I can do," Wes shrugged his voice soft.

"Talking to me didn't cross your mind?"

"Talking to you got me into this situation in the first place. If I had just kept my mouth shut about my past you wouldn't be looking at me like I was about to fall apart at any moment. You'd trust me."

"Trust...Trust you? Wes, this has nothing to do with not trusting you and everything to do with the fact that I'm pissed."

Silver eyes finally looked up from the ground and into his friends eyes. Travis's breath caught in his throat when he saw how much pain and sadness were in his eyes. He hadn't been trying to hurt him.

For once Travis wanted to truly help the younger man. He just didn't know how he was supposed to do that. Especially since he was realizing that he didn't really know anything about the man.

"Wes," Travis shook his head, "I don't know what I'm doing. I'm used to having these situations happen to kids. I know how to help them, but you're an adult. I want to help you get past this and help you, but..."

"I'm not a child, Travis. I can take care of myself."

"But you don't need to anymore. I'm here. At least I'll be here when I figure out what the hell I'm doing."

The blond stared at the older man before a smile began to tug on his lips. Travis watched in confusion as the man double over in laughter. It was something that the older man could say he had never seen.

Reaching out he placed a hand on Wes's shoulder wondering what was going on through the mans head. It took a moment but he calmed down long and stood up so he was smiling at his partner.

"Travis, I don't need to be taken care of," Wes repeated with no anger in his voice, "I'm not a child."

"But I..." Travis began.

"I do need a friend though. Listen closely because I'm not going to repeat this again. I don't need anyone to take care of me like a child. I need a friend that will talk to me. That will distract me when I need it. That will call me out when I get too lost in well... Me."

"I can do that!"

"Really?"

"Yes! I want to be your friend, Wes. I do. I'm just not used to this. I'm much better with kids than I am with adults."

"That's because you never grew up."

"Yeah, well. You're not transferring."

"Fine. I won't transfer as long as you quit acting like I'm made of glass."

"You got yourself a deal, Babe."


End file.
